Genetic Manipulation
by Orca15
Summary: When genetically engineered black panthers wreak havoc on New York City and one of the Avengers gets hurt, it's up to the others and a young assassin to deal with this little mess. Contains all Characters but focuses on Hawkeye.
1. Prologue

__**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, themes, or ideas associated with the Avengers. I do, however, own my original character, so please ask before use if you like her. **

**Author Note: Please read and review. If you see anything that is technically wrong (i.e. something that was revealed in the movie that maybe I missed/changed.) let me know so I can fix it. I enjoy criticism and use it to better my work, so please do so. Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

_Prologue_

Word travels fast in the scientific community, even in the jungle. He'd gone there to escape the crazies. To prevent any anger incidents from occurring. But, he had control. Even when something did happen to make him angry he was able to control himself. But, word travels fast. Someone had been tinkering with genetics and had created creatures so powerful no one could control them. Panthers so strong they could bite a human body in half with one snap of their jaws. Cats so large they could crush a car with one paw. Who could do that, who would do that to any creature, let alone the world? So, because word travels fast he stood here on request of the president, staring an unnaturally large panther in the eye. A human arm dangled from the creatures mouth as it stared back at him. Deep emerald eyes glared from the black abyss of the fur on the cats face. "Okay little guy, we can go easy or we can go hard, your choice." The Hulk said. The creatures only response was a lunging attack that Bruce blocked with his arm. The cats jaw engulfed his massive Hulk arm, it's teeth ripped his flesh, which both surprised and hurt him. He'd taken bullets as the Hulk without a second thought. He flung the cat off and it scrambled away. Normally, Bruce would have pursued it, but he was perplexed by how it had actually broke through his Kevlar tough skin, not to mention how bad it was burning, like his blood was boiling.

* * *

Tony Stark sat in his lab tinkering with his new Ironman suit. Seemed like every time he saved someone he had to make a new suit. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but he did make upgrades every time he saved someone. Every situation was a learning experience and he could always improve his suit. "Sir." Jarvis, his automated home computer system, addressed him.

"Yes Jarvis?" Tony replied.

"Pepper will be home in about twenty minutes." Jarvis stated.

"I know." Tony replied, of course he hadn't forgotten that Pepper was coming home from her business trip today. How could he forget that?

"And you have a phone call from Nick Fury, he says it's urgent." Jarvis added.

"It's always urgent. Tell him I'm busy." He stated as he continued to tinker with the suit in front of him.

"Sir, he says it's life or death urgent and he needs to speak to you right away."

"Patch me through." He rolled his eyes as the line came on through the speakers in the room. "Fury, what's so urgent today?" He asked.

"I need your help." Nick Fury stated.

"What else is new?" Tony questioned. "Of course you need my help, but the question is, do I give you my help or not?"

"It's about Bruce." Fury stated.

"What's he gotten himself into this time?" Tony asked.

"Don't you ever watch the news?"

"No, I don't have time to listen to people talk about me today, to busy." Tony stated sarcastically.

"Do the genetically engineered cats that are running amuck and killing people ring a bell?" Fury questioned, obviously annoyed with Tony's sarcasm.

"Yeah, heard about it, was told it was being taken care of."

"Imagine a creature that can bite through the Hulks skin." Fury stated.

"I'd rather not." Tony replied, adding. "I need a stronger suit." He stated as thoughts of a gigantic cats teeth sinking into his own skin flooded his mind.

"Tony, the cats carry venom like a snake. It's got Bruce bedridden and unconscious. I need you to gather the forces and come in. The doctors say they need a fresh sample of the venom. Plus, someone has to take care of the original problem." Fury explained.

"Don't you have your boy America at your beck and call?" Tony questioned, thinking of the youngest 70 year old he had ever seen.

"This is bigger than any one person Stark, we need the Avengers." Fury stated. "I need you to get them."

"I'll get Hawkeye and Black Widow right away, but you're gonna have to get the old man." Tony said with an eye roll thinking about Captain America and hoping he didn't actually have to call him too.

"Any way to get Thor? I have a feeling this might get a little out of control." Fury said.

"Yeah, don't have his number." Tony replied. "Besides, it's just a couple kittens, how hard can it be?"

"The Hulk is bedridden because of those kittens Stark. How hard do you think?" Fury used a bit of his own sarcasm.

"Tony" Pepper Potts voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Gotta go, we'll be right in." Tony said, Jarvis ended the call before Fury could comment.

"Down here Ms. Potts." Tony yelled. "Jarvis, get me Hawkeye and Black Widow."

"Hawkeye and Black Widow? Somehow I have a feeling you're not throwing a party." Pepper said as she entered the room from the winding staircase.

"Nope, no party. Bruce is sick, needs our help." Tony replied as he began putting his suit away.

"I have Hawkeye and Black Widow." Jarvis stated.

"Put them on." Tony said. "Clint, Natasha, we need you." He said as the line came on to two of the other Avengers.

"Tony, I'm working." Natasha stated.

"Me too." Clint added.

"Bruce is sick. Got bit by one of those big cats someone's been messing with. We need help."

"Yeah, I got that that." Hawkeye stated.

"When I say sick I mean to say one of those huge cat things bit right through Hulk skin and released a deadly venom into him that has bedded Bruce. Any questions?" Tony stated the explanation.

"Can you come pick me up?" Natasha questioned.

"Then swing by to get me?" Clint added.

"I'll be right there." Tony smiled despite the situation. "End the call Jarvis." He smiled at Pepper as he stated. "Sorry I have to run off like this."

"That's life." Pepper replied.

"Jarvis, take care of Pepper while I'm gone." Tony ordered the home computer.

"Yes sir." Jarvis replied.

* * *

Cassandra Blake stared at the picture in her hand. She and the man in it had gotten the picture made before he up and decided to leave her. She'd thought she was over it, but then the photographer had called. The photo had dredged up buried memories, not that she didn't remember it every day. The scars from the intensive battle training she'd put herself through after the breakup served as a constant reminder. She stared out at the ocean, then down at the waves crashing into the cliff beneath her. Her phone rang and interrupted her sorrowful solitude. The caller ID said restricted. "Hello?" she said after having accepted the call.

"Cassandra." The voice on the other end greeted her cheerfully yet with a bit of reservation.

"Dad, this isn't a good time." She replied.

"This is an official call Cassandra." He stated.

"Mr. President. What can I do for you?" Being the President's daughter wasn't near as glamorous as people made it out to be, especially when you were the presidential contracted assassin.

"There's two extremely large black panthers killing people in New York." The President explained.

"I saw that, but the news said the Avengers were on it." She stated with a little annoyance. "I decided to steer clear, I'm already walking down memory lane today."

"The Hulk was on it, the others weren't. But the Hulk was injured. I'd like you on this one. Cassandra, you're the best at this kind of thing, what with the big cats and all."

"Genetically engineered cats are a far cry from what I'm used to Mr. President." She stated, of course she would love to get involved with the creatures but she didn't want to chance running into a certain Avenger. "Besides, I'm in California."

"I know, the jet is on its way." He stated with a bit of satisfaction, she wasn't going to get out of this one.

"Okay," She sighed. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." He paused. "And be careful Cassandra." That was dad talking, not Mr. President.

"I will." She replied.

"Gotta go." He said. "Love you Pumpkin."

"Love you too dad." She replied as the call was ended from the other end. She slid the phone back into her pocket and looked at the picture in her hand. "Goodbye." She said as she let the wind take the picture down the cliff and out to sea. She lifted her sunglasses over her eyes and turned to her smart car, she had a plane to catch and people to save.

* * *

Clint stared through the glass of the confinement capsule aboard the helicarrier. Bruce Banner was laying on a hospital bed in the middle of it. The capsule was built to contain the Hulk and because they didn't know how Bruce's body would react to the venom they had converted the capsule to a hospital room. To see such a strong man in such a frail position made Clint cringe. He himself was just a man who had trained himself to perfection in many skills but mainly archery. Bruce, on the other hand, was genetically great. The amount of discipline and motivation that it took for Bruce to control not only the Hulk but also when the Hulk appeared rivaled that of no other. Clint respected him for that. The idea of losing such a respected friend made Clint's gut knot, he'd been down that road before. Determination fueled him. He would do everything he could to save Bruce Banner. "Agent Barton to the bridge." The intercom stated.

"What now?" He whispered to himself as he headed toward the bridge. When he arrived he was met by a less than delighted Director Nick Fury.

"What the hell is she doing down there?" Fury questioned pointing to the computer monitor in front of them. The screen was filled with a satellite view of a woman clad in a black and pink skin tight jumpsuit with a bow slung over her shoulder. She was crouched down stalking the gigantic black panther that had injured Bruce.

"How am I supposed to know?" Clint questioned, praying his gut feeling was wrong about what was coming next.

"Because you and Cassandra Blake are the best of the best when it comes to special forces archery." Fury stated.

"Well," He better at least attempt to give Fury an intelligent answer or he would never get out of there. "she did do intensive studies on animal genealogy and behavior in college. Then, when she got out she put her archery skills to work in jungles around the world hunting down man eating cats." Clint explained.

"You do mean NATURALLY man eating cats right?" Fury asked. "Just for clarification."

"Yes, the food population grows scarce, the cats move into villages to obtain food, people die in the process and usually the cat has to be neutralized. Once they get a taste of human flesh there's no going back." Clint described the behaviors of animals in the _Panthera_ family.

"So, would she have caught wind of this on her own and decided to lend a hand?" Fury questioned. "Or is she in on it?"

"You realize you're questioning the honor of the president's daughter right?"

"Yes, is she involved?" Fury questioned out right.

"I doubt it, she believes that breeds should be left alone to evolve as they would naturally." Clint stated. "It's more likely that she's working for someone, probably the president himself."

"He didn't inform me of any other actions on his part. He told us to clean up the mess."

"Yeah, well, sometimes he's not a very patient man." Clint retorted. "And he doesn't have to tell you everything, I'm sure you don't tell him everything either."

"I'll choose to ignore that comment." Fury stated. "I'll see if I can get with him and find out what he's up to. In the meantime, I want you and Ironman to take a stab at that panther and shut Cassandra down. We don't need her getting in the way." Fury ordered. "Make sure you bring that thing back."

"Yes sir." Clint replied, his gut feeling was right, Fury was sending him to shut Cassandra down. This wasn't going to be pretty. He headed out to find Tony Stark, at least he wouldn't have to face her alone.


	2. Chapter One

_Steady..._ She told herself. The string on her bow was pulled tightly with an arrow nestled gently in the slide. The target was prowling through the cars on the road. The panther was obviously not interested in a meal at the moment. Which was good, that way none of the innocent people around it would be eaten right now. However, the fact that it was around so many people made it really difficult to target the creature. It was too likely that she could miss the creature altogether and hit one of the people. So, she relaxed her bow. A solid target on the over-sized-man-eating panther would have to wait till later. Later when the panther was away from the mass population. She watched the panther and pondered it's behavior, why was it acting in an almost defensive manner? Then the creature moved out from behind the car it had been unintentionally using for cover. It's teats were obviously swollen like that of a nursing cat. _She has babies._ She thought to herself. Babies posed a bigger problem, she would have to find the little guys before neutralizing the female. To do so she would follow the creature. She slid her arrow back into the quiver and headed down the fire escape of the building she'd been using as a perch and into the ally. On her way to the road she kept one eye on the target and one eye on her path. A shadowy figure appeared beside her and she continued toward the creatures path. She tried to ignore the shadow but she felt a familiar presence.

"The Avengers will take care of this mess." The shadow spoke in that familiar and comforting voice. She stopped walking.

"Oh dear Clint, if only it were that easy." Cassandra Blake replied. She knew as well as anyone else that the Avengers would deal with the immediate threat, the panther in the city. The problem though is that the bigger threat might actually be the kittens and the male panther.

"Cassandra, one of our own is going to die if we don't get that creature." The man said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Oh yes, the anti-venom. Here's the problem, Clint, you guys had your chance to deal with the problem. You sent the Hulk in by himself and he failed. The president trusted your Avenger Initiative to solve the problem and y'all failed so he came to me."

"Bruce is going to die." He sounded almost desperate, almost as if he was asking for her help rather than trying to deter her.

"Clint, life isn't always rainbows and butterflies. Isn't that what you told me?"

"I told you that when we broke up Cassandra, not when someone's life was on the line." Clint defended himself. Maybe her comment had been a little cruel but so had his the first time he'd said it.

"Are you sure about that?" She glared at her counterpart and backed away. "I have more than just emotional scars Clint." With that she ran out into the street and followed the path of screaming people. Apparently the creature had decided it was hungry.

"Cassandra, at least let us help you!" Clint shouted after her. She felt a bit of compassion in his voice, almost as if he was holding on as much as she was. _No, that's stupid. _She thought to herself.

"I work alone!" She shouted back. The creature came into sight and she loaded an arrow into her bow. Through the chaos she could hear the familiar metallic clink of Clint loading his own arrow. She turned to see him standing just behind her. He had the same sense of desperation in his eyes as earlier. Bruce Banner must be a really close friend to elicit such an emotional response from Clint Barton. "Clint!" She called to him. "Don't kill her! We need to find her den or else we're going to have bigger problems on our hands."

"Den?" He questioned as he relaxed his bow just a tad.

"Yes, den. She's acting in a defensive manner which tells me that she's trying to stay alive to protect someone. Plus, her swollen teats are a dead giveaway of a nursing mother." She explained. She loaded a tracking arrow into her bow and shot it at the creature just behind the shoulders. The arrow made contact, eliciting a load roar from the creature and causing her to turn in the direction of the two archers.

"Now she's mad!" Clint exclaimed. "Sure we can't find the babes without her?"

"It's not likely." Cassandra replied. "Plus, we need to take care of the male first, we really don't want to deal with a made male-oversized-man-eating..."

"I get it." Clint interrupted. "But I suggest we run, or we're gonna be the eaten men."

"Agreed." _Finally something we can agree on today..._ Cassandra thought to herself as she ran after Clint.

"Grab onto me!" He shouted to her as he stopped and began loading an arrow.

"What?" She questioned, if he thought giving him a hug would fix their problem he was mistaken.

"We're going up." He said as he nodded to the building next to them and then to the grappler arrow he had loaded into his bow. "This cat is ground bound isn't she?"

"For the most part yeah."

"Then stop arguing and grab on." After a short pause that was ended by a load roar behind them she grabbed onto Clint in a bear hug fashion. He fired the grappler and they lifted off the ground seconds later. "See, it's not so bad." He stated as they landed on the roof of the building and the cat ran by. He stared into her eyes with one strong arm wrapped around her holding her close to him. The moment seemed unending. It ended when a jet like object whizzed by and caused both of them to run to the edge of the building. The object, or rather Ironman, flew straight at the panther and released a volley of fire into her. He connected in several key places and the cat fell to the found covered in blood and barely breathing.

"That idiot!" Cassandra screamed. "And you! You had no intention of following her!"

"Not at first no." Clint replied. "But after you said the thing about the pissed of daddy cat, yeah I did want to find the den. I had no way of communicating that to Tony." He said as he gripped her arm when she tried to storm off.

"Let go of me Clint!" She ordered.

"I can't. I have an objective and I think you're the only one that can actually help me fulfill it."

"What do you mean, the cat is already going to die."

"Yes, but Bruce isn't. I need your help to create the anti-venom."

"You just don't get it do you? There's more at stake than Bruce!"

"I know that, please help me." He pleaded softly. He really was prepared to do anything to help his friend and really she was being childish.

"Clint, I'm not a doctor." She stated quietly.

"Yes, but you know quite a bit about her." He pointed to the cat who was still hanging on by some thread of a miracle.

"I hate you." She stated. "Just so we're clear."

"Well, after I broke up with you and told you life's not always rainbows and butterflies who could blame you. But, in my defense, I was under the influence of some alien technology at the time."

"That's no excuse."

"Yeah because being forced to do things you don't want to do and literally not being able to fight it isn't an acceptable reason for anything is it? Maybe I should be put away for the people I killed while I was under Loki's magic too."

"Whatever, get me down there." Cassandra stated as she pointed to the cat on the ground. "Hopefully, Ramboman didn't damage the venom glands."

"It's Ironman." Clint corrected as he reloaded the grappler arrow. He wrapped an arm around her and smiled. "Hang on." He said. He release his grip on her just long enough to shoot the arrow at the next building. She held on as they jumped from the roof and the grappler allowed them to fall gently to the ground.

"You enjoyed that far too much." She commented about his smile.

"Yeah well, maybe I'm not over you." He stated as they walked toward the downed creature.

"Whatever, you broke up with me, not the other way around."

"Come on Cas, I was literally not in control of my actions." He defended himself again.

"That's not what you said then." She stated. It was true. He had called her when he was under the influence of Loki's magic and had broke it off with her.

_"Cas, it's just not gonna work. Not everything is rainbows and butterflies. This is the one thing I'm in control of right now. Just trust me on this, please." _She remembered his words as if he'd said them five minutes before. _"Just stay away from me." _His words echoed in her mind and heart.

"Oh come on." He stated. "I was trying to protect you!"

"From what?" She turned to face him. Silence ensued, he couldn't tell her that he didn't want to risk something from his work would hurt her, never mind the fact that she was in the same line of work.

"Guys, I could really use a hand." Tony Stark interrupted them as he walked up in his Ironman suit.

"You freaking Bastard!" Cassandra turned to face him. "You just screwed up my whole operation."

"If your operation was to watch the cat eat the entire city before sundown, sure, I ruined it." Tony replied snidely.

"The cat's got a den Tony, a freaking den full of those things. Cassandra here was going to follow her back to it and deal with the whole mess at once." Clint defended her, not that she needed it.

"And as soon as the male finds out you killed his mate he's going to go into a rage." Cassandra added, obviously angry. "Way to get hundreds killed." She walked over to the cat who had finally given up her hold on life. She was riddled with wounds from Tony's attack. "Ohmigod, couldn't hold back could you? Just let go all your rage on the poor thing. This is overkill Ironman." She said his name in a mocking tone.

"That creature attacked my friend. He might die." Tony defended himself.

"Yeah, let's not think about the hundreds of unsuspecting citizens the male is going to kill before we can stop him. We'll only think about Bruce and keeping Bruce alive." Cassandra retorted.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration isn't it?" Tony questioned.

"No, it's not. How many people did this one kill in the last three days?"

"She's got a point." Clint stated.

"Okay, let's take this guy back to the helicarrier and see if we can get the Hulk back on his feet." Tony suggested, trying to get the focus off him and the mistake he had just made.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Cassandra replied as her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. Restricted. That could mean only one thing. She hit the answer button.

"Cassandra, look at the mess around you. How many people died before Ironman had to step in to finish the job I assigned you?" The Presidents voice came on the line.

"Mr. President I realize that this is a disaster, but we have a bigger problem on our hands now." She said into the phone. "I think you should make the order for all citizens to stay indoors. There's about to be a very angry male panther running around."

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"She was nursing a litter which means that she has a mate. Male cats don't tend to take the death of their mate very kindly, they usually set out to avenge the death. Now that Ironman killed her the male is going to go into a blood rage and kill anything in his path." She explained.

"Cassandra," he sighed, "I want you to work with the Avengers on this one." The President stated.

"Mr. President with all due respect, I can do this one on my own more efficiently than I can with the Avengers."

"I know that, but if you're working with them maybe we can prevent this mess from growing any more than it already has." He had a point.

"Yes sir, I understand." She replied.

"And sweetie, give the man a chance."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about Hawkeye, Pumpkin, just give him a chance." The line went dead before she could argue.

"The President thinks we should work together." She stated as she turned back to Tony and Clint. "I've requested he put out an order for the citizens to stay indoors until we get this fixed."

"Will that help?" Tony asked.

"I hope so, if not, you have hundreds of lives on your hands." She stated with more than a bit of anger directed at him.

"Let's take this to the helicarrier." Clint suggested. "That way we're not here when her lover comes knocking."


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: Don't own the Avengers, but thanks for the inspiration. **

**Authors note: Thanks for all the favorite tags and follows :D Means a lot. Let me know what you think of this there story though :D **

* * *

Cassandra stared at the man laying in the hospital bed. She'd helped the doctors remove the venom sac from the black panther. No cat she'd ever known had a venom sac, they usually used brute force to get what they wanted, not poisonous bites. But these guys aren't usual are they? Or natural for that matter. The doctors had worked for hours to create the anti-venom and now she watched as they administered it. Clint walked up next to her and stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the doctor inject the anti-venom into Bruce's IV line. "Do you understand now?" He asked softly.

"In part." She said, adding in a whisper, "If that was you..." She couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to say because she wasn't sure she really wanted to say it.

"If that was me what?" He questioned. When she didn't reply he urged on. "What do you mean by that Cas?"

"I have work to do, I need to see if we have any headway on the male." She said as she walked off, fully intent on avoiding the conversation she didn't want to have. She went straight to the lab Director Fury had provided her. He had also given her access to some really nice tracking equipment which she had set up on search grids based upon the females hunting path and behavior. Hopefully she would get a hit on the male or the den sooner rather than later. Despite her urging that she could handle it, Fury had assigned Tony to investigate the genetics of the creature while Cassandra searched for the others. After checking on her search and finding that her satellites hadn't found anything conclusive she headed to Tony's lab. When she arrived knots formed in her stomach and she thought about turning around. Clint was standing in the lab with Tony and Natasha, that all familiar dreading feeling returned. "Stop being such a child." She told herself. With that, she walked in the room. The group stopped talking as she entered. "Why do I feel like I interrupted something?" She asked.

"Don't know, we were just discussing the... weather." Natasha said with a small smile and a glance at Clint.

"They were talking about you." Steve Rodgers said as he walked in behind her.

"He's right, more specifically if you would join the Avenger Initiative or not." Tony piped up.

"No, I won't." She said.

"Tried to tell them that." Clint stated.

"What have you found on the cats?" Cassandra asked Tony in an attempt to change the subject and ignore how well Clint knew her.

"Yeah..." Tony said with a bit of dread as he turned to the computer monitors behind him. "There's Jaguar DNA."

"We expected that." She replied.

"Yes, well, there's also a nice snake cocktail in there. Markers from rattlers, vipers, and cobras."

"Wow, this guys not messing around." Steve said.

"No, neither are the Gamma markers I found." Tony shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling about the whole Gamma Radiation thing." Cassandra said thinking about Bruce. She knew a little about his original condition. It had been Gamma Radiation that had reacted to the serum that had created the Hulk in the first place.

"Yeah, I had concerns as well, but the docs were okay with it." Tony said. "They seem to think that it won't make a difference. Who wants to bet it will?"

"I don't make bets on people's lives." Cassandra stated with a glare meant for Tony.

"The Gamma is why they grew so big?" Clint asked.

"Yes." Tony replied. "And might explain the extreme aggression."

"That's just cat behavior. They are naturally aggressive when necessary. If they don't have anything else to eat, they will hunt and eat people. Kept me employed for several years." Cassandra explained.

"How long do they think it will be before the anti-venom takes effect?" Natasha asked after a short pause and as she glanced over to the monitor that was linked to the camera in the containment capsule.

"They're not even sure it will." Clint said as he watched the monitor thoughtfully.

* * *

Cassandra sat staring at her computer screens, her search grid had shown nothing. No sign of the den or the male, so now she was manually searching through satellite pictures of the area. The expected blood rage from the male had yet to come so she had little to go on. The president had lifted the indoor order since there hadn't been any sign of the danger. This made her job a little harder because now there were cars and people out in droves blocking the view of some areas. She had found something, though, that made her hopeful she would find the male in time. She heard the familiar footsteps of Clint's saunter as he entered the room. "It's not nice to sneak up on people, you know." She stated.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." He replied.

"You're sauntering, you were sneaking." She said notably.

"I'm worried, I saunter when I'm worried." He defended himself. "Any luck?"

"Do you have any idea how many large black animals live in New York?" She asked.

"The fact that you're answering with a question means no luck I suppose." He replied without answering her question.

"No, seriously, black dogs and horses seem to be in an abundance." She said as she brought up pictures of the tons of back yards, balconies, and stables filled with black animals.

"Wow, that's a lot of black critters." He commented but didn't sound surprised. "Any big black cats though?"

"The only panthers I have found are the ones in the zoo." She sighed. "I have a feeling we're looking in the wrong places."

"You're supposed to be the expert on these things." Director Fury said as he walked in the room followed by Steve, Tony, Natasha, and Thor. "The _Panthera_ expert, I believe that's what your father said."

"And he's not wrong." Cassandra stated, trying not to sound egotistical, there was enough of that when Tony was in the room. "The _Panthera_ family consists of four breeds of big cats; the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. Now, what we're dealing with," She brought up the pictur3es of the female panther. "is most commonly referred to as a black panther, but that's not a breed in and of itself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve questioned.

"It means that they're a mutation of either leopards or jaguars." Clint spoke up. "I read it in a book." He addressed Cassandra's quizzical stare with a smile.

"Mutations?" Thor asked.

"Yes, genetically the same as their leopard and jaguar cousins except for the one gene that says what color their fur pigmentation is." Cassandra stated. "Now, we know from Tony's DNA analysis that these guys are jaguars."

"What significance does that have?" Fury asked.

"It doesn't really. I actually think the answer is in the actual mutated DNA."

"The fur pigmentation?" Thor asked. "What does hair color have to do with anything?"

"Because DNA that's already changed, or mutated, is easier to change and hide."

"Hide, this guys hardly hiding them." Natasha said with a glance toward the monitor showing inside the containment capsule to a still unchanged Bruce.

"But he was, I found this." Cassandra replied as she pulled up photos of two black panthers from the Central Park Zoo. "These were taken by a few tourists who visited our lovely zoo in New York. If you'll look at the canine teeth," She zoomed in on the panthers faces. "you'll notice they're not canine's at all."

"They're fangs." Steve stated what everyone could see. In the place of the panthers natural canine teeth were the fangs of a snake, no doubt connected to the venom sacs full of deadly poison.

"Wait, I thought you said you hadn't found anything." Clint said, acting hurt that she hadn't shown him the photos earlier when they were talking.

"No, that's what you said. I never confirmed nor denied." Cassandra smiled in that I don't care if you're hurt or not way. "This is the male." She pointed to one of the cats. "And this is a female." She pointed to the other one.

"Are these photos from before they got big? They look normal size to me." Natasha said.

"Which is what worries me." Cassandra said, adding, "These photos were taken this morning after the danger alert was lifted. These cats are at the zoo right now and, judging by their ear and paw development, they are about two months old."

"These are the cubs?" Fury questioned.

"Exactly." Cassandra confirmed.

"Where's daddy?" Tony asked.

"Tell me, Mr. Stark, did you tinker with things when you were a young boy?" Cassandra questioned.

"I was a young boy?" Tony quipped but then answered with a short "Yes."

"And where did you hide your inventions so you wouldn't get into trouble with your parents?" She continued her mock interrogation.

"Two places," Tony held up two fingers. "in plain sight and under my bed."

"In plain sight," Cassandra pointed to the cubs in the photo then brought up another photo outlining the entire zoo. "And under your bed." She said.

"You think this scientist has hidden his mutated cats under the zoo?" Thor asked.

"I wouldn't call him a scientist, but yeah, that's the theory." Cassandra confirmed. "There's old off exhibit cages under the zoo."

"How did you find this?" Fury asked.

"The ID chip in the female. She was originally the female at the zoo, along with her life-long mate, both of them were taken off exhibit four months ago with no reason."

"So we're looking at zoo staff?" Clint asked.

"No, I don't think anyone in the zoo is running the show, someone is helping him though. The underground cages haven't been used in years. We need to shut down the zoo though. If these two get out and hurt someone we're looking at a bigger problem."

"How so?" Steve questioned.

"These guys aren't big enough to eat a whole person in one bite, which means the toxins from the snake cocktail will run rampant in the victim's body. Honestly, I don't know what that could do."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked.

"The mixture of the mutated DNA and the Gamma Radiation could react, let's just say catastrophically, with human DNA. I'm talking super human status with no ability to suppress the urge to kill because the DNA has been compromised so much there won't be any human left."

"You think their goal is to create a super human capable and willing to kill." Tony stated. "Isn't that a little farfetched?"

"Look at Banner and Rodgers. They're direct results of the same type of experimentation." Clint offered. "No offense, Steve."

"None taken." Steve replied.

"Good point Legolas." Tony agreed.

"I'll have the zoo shut down." Fury said. "You guys get down there now and see what you can find."

"Yes sir." Steve replied with a salute that Cassandra wasn't sure if it was meant to be sarcastic or serious.


	4. Chapter Three

They all looked out the window of the Quinjet as they approached the zoo to see a zookeeper cautiously attempting to muzzle the panther cubs. Clint landed the jet gently in the courtyard just outside the panther exhibit while Cassandra and Tony prepared to exit out the back. As soon as the door opened both of them headed straight for the panthers, Cassandra's bow in hand and Tony's suit glinting in the sun. "Tony, he's trying to get them out." Cassandra stated the obvious.

"Yeah, I can see." Tony replied with more than a little sarcasm in his voice as he lowered his helmet. "We're not going to let him though." He initiated the jets in his boots and headed toward the zoo keeper.

"Wait Tony. We have no way of knowing if they can bite through your suit." Cassandra said, thinking about how territorial and protective large cats could be.

"Don't get bit, got it." Tony replied.

"And let's not let the zoo keeper get away." Steve said over the radio.

"Hey Clint, give me a hand." Cassandra said. "We'll tranquilize them at the same time to avoid any injuries." Images of her tranquilizer arrow connecting with one of the cubs and the other one going into a protective rage filled her mind as she loaded the arrow.

"Yeah, let's not get anyone hurt." Clint said as he stepped up next to her with a tranquilizer arrow loaded into his own bow. "On my count." He said.

"Yeah, ready when you are." She replied calmly, focusing on her target.

"One," he paused half a second. "two," Another half second pause. "and mark." They released the arrows at the same time. The arrows connected with the two panthers only a millisecond apart and the cats fell in unison.

"Thanks." She said, glad that was out of the way without incident.

"Yeah, anytime." He replied with a small smile.

"Clint, Natasha, check 'under the bed' if you will." Steve said to the two assassins.

"With pleasure." Natasha replied as both of them headed off to the underground off-exhibit area. The zookeeper took what he thought was a distracted moment from the team to try and run, but Steve stopped him.

"Son, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Steve said as he held the much smaller man by the shirt while Tony charged his hand weapon and Cassandra drew her bow back with an arrow nocked, ready to shoot. "Where's the other cat and who's behind this?" Steve questioned while Cassandra returned her arrow to the quiver, deciding Steve and Tony could deal with the small man, she would be of more used if she fitted the muzzles onto the tranquilized cats.

"I swear, I don't know anything." The zookeeper said as Cassandra tightened the strap on the last muzzle.

"Sure you don't." Tony said sarcastically before shooting off a warning shot to show the power his hand held.

"I don't, I swear it." The zookeeper replied.

"Look," Cassandra said, she had lost her patients now. "this is a load of shit!" She growled as she moved quickly from the cats to the man and pressed the tip of an arrow into the man's throat. "Tell me who is behind this! Who's the monster that did this to these beautiful cats?"

"He paid a pretty penny for me to take care of these guys, it also covers a really nice code of silence." The man replied snidely with that stone wall look in his eyes. They weren't going to get anything out of him.

"So you just took the money and watched as he destroyed these beautiful creatures which caused hundreds of deaths." Cassandra grilled. "Or is it your fault they got out and killed all those innocent people?"

"I didn't know what they were, okay. I didn't know they were so... intelligent. Cats are, you know, instinctual creatures. You provide everything they need and they stay, even if you accidentally leave the gate open. Usually anyways." The zookeeper said.

"These creatures aren't usual." Cassandra stated. She didn't believe the ignorant play that the man was taking on, he knew exactly what the creatures were and he wanted to test their power. One thing every man had in common, the love for power.

Clint and Natasha headed off for the door that lead to the underground off-exhibit cages. He really wanted to listen to all the keep out and danger signs that were stapled to the door, but he had a job to do, an order to follow, and a mission to complete. Natasha kicked in the door they walked cautiously down the stairs behind it. "Watch your step." Natasha whispered over her shoulder.

"Got it." He replied quietly. When they reached the bottom of the stairs there were a few lights around the room illuminating the several empty cages. His senses were on high alert, which he regretted as his nose told him that something had been living in the tight quarters and that something, or someone, had bled a lot down there.

"You smell that?" Natasha questioned, as if there was any way he couldn't smell it.

"Yeah," he replied. "Feces and blood." He said. "It's fresh." They walked shoulder to shoulder between two rows of cages. When they came to the end of the row they saw the source of the smell, a pile of feces on one side and blood soaked concrete on the other.

"That's just foul." Natasha commented.

"Yeah." He agreed. They kept walking and headed through the door on the back wall where they found what looked like a science lab. There were test tubes, computer parts, and papers strewn all over the room.

"It looks like he was here." Natasha said over the radio. "But he cleared out fast." She added with a look around the disheveled room.

"Daddy cat's not here." Clint added.

"Okay, let's get what we have back to the helicarrier." Steve replied. "Including mister care-taker-of-the-evil-serpent-cats." Clint heard the grunt of the zookeeper that made him imagine Steve pushing the little man down on the ground.

"I'll have a containment team take care of that." Fury come on the radio. "Just bring the cats and the zookeeper back. There's been a development with Bruce."

"What kind of development?" Cassandra questioned. _Is that compassion I hear?_ Clint asked himself of Cassandra's question.

"No change. The doctors are going to try something different, thus why I need you guys back now. I'm not exactly sure how the Hulk is going to react." Fury explained.

"Wait, the Hulk?" Cassandra questioned.

"Just get back here." Fury brushed off her question, but Clint didn't ignore it. How could he? She sounded terrified.

"Right away sir." Steve replied. "Clint, Natasha, get up here, we could use a hand."

"Be right up." Natasha replied.

A team met them as the landed on the helicarrier to take the cats to the observation lab that had been prepared. "Keep them sedated." Cassandra told the agent who was leading the team.

"This isn't my first time around the block you know." The man stated.

"She knows that," Clint said. "but when an Avenger tells you to do something, you do it, no questions asked."

"Yes sir." The man said as he began ordering his team to do as Cassandra had said.

"You didn't have to do that." Cassandra whispered to Clint as they all headed toward the containment capsule to meet Fury. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah well, we don't have time for you to teach them how bossy you can be." Clint stated.

"No, I guess we don't. You know, with me becoming an Avenger and all..." She retorted snidely.

"Don't say it like that," He said as he put a hand on her arm to stop her from continuing down the hall. "like being an Avenger is such a bad thing."

"It took you away from me." She snapped.

"No, the Avenger Initiative is not what took me away from you..."

"Clint, Cassandra, we need you." Fury interrupted over the radio.

"We'll finish this conversation later." Clint said.

"No, we just finished it." She stated as she stormed off down the hall, he sighed and followed her. They caught up with the rest of the group at the containment capsule.

"Great, now that we're all here," Fury glared at Clint and Cassandra. "we can get started." he nodded to the nurse who was standing next to Bruce's bed, she began to inject something into the IV.

"What exactly is the plan?" Cassandra asked, a little nervous about what was said on the radio earlier about the Hulk.

"Well," The doctor said as she walked up. "we're having troubles with the Gamma Radiation."

"Ha! I knew it!" Tony piped up, proud that he'd foreseen the issue with the radiation.

"So, the solution" The doctor continued, ignoring Tony's comment. "is to let the Hulk take care of the radiation and the stronger dose of the anti-venom will take care of the rest."

"It's your plan to release the Hulk!" Natasha exclaimed. "Did Bruce agree to this?"

"Yes, that's the plan." The doctors sober response made Cassandra question the woman's sanity. "He's in no position to breath, let alone agree to anything, I made the decision." Fury stated.

"That's not a good idea." Clint argued.

"Well, arguments or not, it's too late, it's already started." Fury said, motioning to Bruce, who was already beginning to change. His skin was turning green and his muscles began bulging out of the hospital gown as he let out a non-human scream.

"Is that going to hold him?" Cassandra asked worriedly of the containment capsule.

"I hope so." Natasha said as Bruce Banners sick frail body was replaced by the not so frail form of the Hulk.


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers and I'm not making any money from this, purely just the challenge of actually doing the story is the only reason I am writing it :D Thanks for the inspiration. I do own Cassandra though. **

* * *

There was complete silence among the group of people surrounding the containment capsule in the seconds after Bruce Banner's complete transition into the Hulk. All Cassandra could hear was her own heart drumming in her head. She held her breath as she stared at the green rage monster inside the glass chamber. Immediately following his transformation he stood absolutely still. Cassandra watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took. He locked eyes with each of the people who were staring at him. It was all silence until suddenly it wasn't. He began with a deafening roar and a solid punch against the glass. the Hulk went into a craze, roaring as he kicked, body slammed, and punched the glass. Much to Cassandra's surprise, Natasha stepped up to the glass. Cassandra had heard that the Hulk had nearly killed Natasha during an incident involving Loki. "Bruce!" She called in a welcoming and calming way. "Bruce, you have to calm down. Please don't break the glass." Natasha pleaded with the monster. Cassandra saw Fury's hand hovering over the eject button for the capsule. The doctor was watching intently. "Bruce." Natasha called again. "Come on Bruce." the Hulk obviously understood and recognized the red haired assassin. He stopped and watched the woman over his shoulder for a moment, then he lunged toward the group, body slamming the glass, which held. "Bruce! Control it!" Natasha screamed as she slapped her hands against the glass in front of her. The Hulk stopped, Natasha obviously getting his attention again. He locked eyes with Natasha as he knelt down in front of her and placed his hands against the glass palm to palm with Natasha. "That's it, just stay calm and focused." Natasha whispered. It was quite a sight to see the unnaturally large man subdued by the woman in which he dwarfed.

"Natasha?" The Hulk growled the question, Cassandra had never seen so much emotion in someone's eyes. "What have I done?" His question sent Cassandra into thought, the poor man must be confused and terrified. One minute he had been in a hospital bed and the next he was hulking out and he didn't know why, or did he even remember the hospital bed?

"It's okay, you didn't hurt anyone." Natasha said. "You're sick Bruce, this was the only way to treat you." Cassandra listened as Natasha spoke in calming tones. There was no indication that the woman was scared at all, but how could she resist the fear when the man had nearly killed her before? It didn't matter, Cassandra's own fear was slipping away. She stepped back, movement in her body now returning to her. Her retreat was not missed by Clint's ever watchful eye from his position by the door where he stood with one hand on his bow. Though he took a step toward her in an attempt to calm her nerves, he didn't say anything. No one dared speak for fear of startling the Hulk.

"What do you mean sick?" the Hulk asked, or was it Bruce? Cassandra couldn't differentiate between the two, she didn't know enough about the man to know if it was Bruce talking or his alter-ego.

"You were bit by a venomous mutated black panther." Natasha explained. "Do you remember?"

"That cat bit right through my arm." He bellowed in anger.

"Yeah, precisely the problem." Natasha replied calmly.

"Dr. Banner." The doctor stepped up next to Natasha, causing the green beast to pull his hands back. "I'm Doctor Kavanogh. I've been trying to treat you but I was coming up with no results. The Gamma radiation in your system was interfering with the radiation in the cats venom. I needed the Hulk to deal with the radiation in order for the anti-venom to be able to do its job." The doctor explained. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience that I've caused." _She's sorry?_ Cassandra questioned in her mind, once again wondering about the doctors sanity.

"You purposefully did this to me!" He roared at the doctor.

"I didn't have a choice, it was that or let you die." The doctor defended herself. Bruce seemed to attempt to bore a hole in the woman's head with his eyes.

"Bruce." Natasha said. "Please, let it go."

"Do I need to stay angry?" He questioned at a low growl, ignoring Natasha's plea.

"I believe the anti-venom has had enough time to work." The doctor replied.

"Good." The one word reply came from the large green man who looked absolutely defeated as he plopped down in the middle of the room.

"Bruce?" Natasha questioned.

"Gimme a minute." He said with a sigh as he closed his eyes in concentration. The transformation that took only seconds to complete was reversed in a matter of minutes leaving behind a weak looking man wearing only tatters of a hospital gown. Cassandra looked away to give the man a little privacy as nurses ran in to help him into what was left of the hospital bed. Cassandra shot a glare at Director Fury as she turned to leave the room. There was no reason for her to have been there to witness that. Clint tried to stop her from leaving as she walked passed him, but she shrugged him off and kept walking.

* * *

Clint watched out the door as Cassandra hurriedly walked off down the hall. "What was that about?" Tony questioned.

"I don't know." Clint replied, still watching Cassandra's back as she retreated away from the containment capsule.

"Moody women." Tony commented.

"Well, find out." Fury addressed Clint, ignoring Tony's comment. "I don't need any more temper fits today." He added quietly with a small glance toward Bruce and a bit of guilt accenting his voice. Nobody liked that they had to do that to Bruce, but hopefully it had saved his life.

"Yes sir." Clint replied in an agreeing tone. He knew Cassandra could be moody at best, but he'd never seen her storm out of a work related incident with such attitude. He jogged after Cassandra who was headed toward the armory. "Cas." He called to her, she ignored him. "Cassandra, stop." She stopped and turned to face him as he caught up to her. "What the hell was that?" He questioned.

"That was me needing some air, leave me alone Agent Barton." She snapped and went inside the armory, his armory, the one set up with an archery range. He waited until the door was completely closed before heading back to the containment capsule. When he arrived Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Thor were all standing by Bruce's bed. Natasha was smiling as she laid a hand gently on Bruce's sheet covered leg. Clint couldn't help but notice. Maybe it was just relief that the Hulk had remained secure inside the capsule, but Natasha hardly ever showed any kind of emotion toward anyone. The way she had calmed Bruce down had been fueled by a lot of emotion, he'd known that, but what kind of emotion? He set aside his questions about his friends emotional connection to Bruce Banner and entered through the only door in the room.

"How's miss moody prudy?" Tony asked of Cassandra.

"She just needed some air." Clint replied, not wanting to say that he had failed in finding out exactly what had happened. "Glad to see you're conscious." Clint said to Bruce.

"Yeah, thanks for the concern." Bruce replied blandly.

"The doctors are taking that as a good sign." Natasha commented.

"Who's miss moody prudy?" Bruce asked.

"Robin Hood's ex-lover, she's almost as good with a bow as he is." Tony said.

"And she knows a lot about these mutated cats." Thor piped up.

"When did you come back? I thought you were taking care of Loki's imprisonment." Bruce asked Thor.

"I was, but then I heard that you had been injured in battle. I could not ignore that you needed my help." The Asgardian said in that godly way of his. "Plus, I couldn't let the man of iron have all the fun." Tony just glared in response to the play on his name.

"Okay guys, Dr. Banner needs to rest." A nurse said as she hung a new IV of fluids for her patient. When they didn't leave immediately the nurse glared promptly encouraging the group to move.

"I'm gonna go find Cassandra and see if she got enough air." Clint said after the group walked out together in response to the nurses glare. When he arrived at the armory Cassandra was shooting off arrows at the targets on the far wall of the range. He grabbed his bow and began nocking his own arrows. "You know," He said with a glance at Cassandra as she shot another arrow. "you would have more accuracy if you would hold the bow like this." He showed her how he was holding his bow, which was only slightly different than how she was holding hers.

"Clint, I'm the second best archer in the world, I hardly think I need pointers." She said as she released another arrow.

"Good point, but don't forget that I am the best archer and if you would take some pointers from me I might could help you improve a little."He pointed out.

"It's not always about being on top." She snapped.

"Isn't it?" He questioned playfully before shooting five arrows in a perfect tight circle around the very center of the target. He wasn't ignorant, he knew what was bothering her. She had never been near the Hulk when he went critical. She'd heard all about it, but it was a new view of the man for her.

"Oh yes, because being the best archer in the world would make what happened back there seem like rainbows and butterflies." She stated as she shot five arrows in a tight circle around the very center of her own target.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, feigning ignorance of her cryptic statement, he knew exactly what she meant. She turned her back to him. "Cas?" He asked quietly, allowing his concern to break through his normally even composure as he heard her sniffle a bit.

"I never want to see that again." She stated with another sniffle. She was talking about the Hulk, it had scared her more than Clint had realized.

"Are you crying?" He tried not to make it sound like he was mocking her, but he was afraid it had come out as if he was.

"I'm serious Clint!" She snapped as she turned around to face him revealing her tear soaked face.

"Oh Cas..." He said softly, taking one small step toward her.  
"What the hell was that?" She questioned.

"Genuine concern." He replied softly.

"No... that... back at the containment... Why did they want me to see that? I see having Natasha there, she calmed him down. I see having you guys there, you might have been able to stop him if necissary. But me... Why was I there?"

"Because you are part of the team Cas." He said as he rested his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Clint, I'm no more a part of the team than you will ever come to understanding me." She pushed his hands off, racked her bow, and walked out.

"Well that went well Barton!" He screamed to himself as he flung an arrow across the room. "You idiot!" He scolded himself.

"Clint." Natasha's voice came from behind him. She was the only person who had ever been able to sneak up on him.

"Can't she see I still love her?" Clint asked his best friend as he turned to face her. "Doesn't she know it wasn't me who said those things? That I was under the control of the god of mischief?"

"I don't think she does, those files are classified. You are one of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and you were compromised. It's not exactly public record." Natasha explained what he already knew, of course Cassandra didn't know what was wrong with him when he had broke up with her. He turned to walk out and paused next to Natasha.

"I don't want to lose her because of what Loki did to me." He said softly before heading out the door.

"Clint, if you love her, don't let what Loki did take her away." Natasha said encouragingly.

"I wish it were that easy Tasha, I really do." He walked out, thinking about what Natasha had said.

* * *

"We've got all the information from the underground lab, the containment team just got the initial report to me." Fury said in a meeting later that day. "It doesn't seem to have any information on where this guy took the Daddy panther, but, it does have a fair amount of research on the project. Stark, I'd like you to take a look at that."

"Right away." Tony replied. Clint thought he was a little too eager to look at material on the genetic code of mutant cats, but that was just Clint's opinion and it wasn't worth stating.

"Ladies," Fury addressed Natasha and Cassandra who were standing against the back wall of the meeting room. "I need you to see what you can find out from our zookeeper friend."

"You got it, if he knows it, he'll tell it." Natasha said with confidence. Cassandra just nodded. Clint knew that Fury was assigning the girls to the job because Natasha was the best interrogation expert and Cassandra was emotionally invested with the cats, as well as completely knowledgeable of what the cats were capable of.

"Just heard from the doctors, Bruce seems to be doing much better, the treatment appears to have worked." Fury said with more than a little relief tainting his voice.

"That's fantastic news!" Thor exclaimed, always the enthusiast.

"Yes it is." Fury agreed. "The rest of you," Fury turned to Thor, Clint, and Steve. "head back down to the zoo and see if there's anything the containment team missed. There has to be some indication of where this guy went."

"If it's there, we'll find it." Steve said.

"Alright, then head on out." Fury walked out of the room and, in silence, the Avengers and Cassandra followed, ready to carry out their orders. As Clint, Thor, and Steve broke off from the group to head to the hanger, Clint glanced at Cassandra, who was walking with determination. He couldn't tell if it was determination fueled by the hatred that she felt for the men who did this to the cats or if it was fueled by her inpatients about getting done with this job. With Cassandra, there was no way to tell, but he didn't want the mission to end because that would mean that Cassandra would leave and Lord knows she wouldn't give him the time of day without the mission. Maybe it was too late and there was no relationship to save.

* * *

**Author Note: I hope this wasn't too much of a sidetrack from the main story line. I wanted to expand a little on the characters emotions and show a little bit of romance :D I'm a romantic at heart, lol. Please let me know what you think and what you might like to see, though no promises on what will or will not make it in. Please please please click that beautiful review button at the bottom! It really likes to be clicked on o.O**


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I don't own the wonderful characters that are the Avengers. They are great inspiration though! **

**Authors Note: Sorry about the delayed update. My muse refused to work and I got distracted with Pokemons! Here it is and the next chapter is a fourth of July special that falls in line with this story :D Enjoy and please review :D **

* * *

Steve Rodgers stared out the window of the Quinjet reminiscing about life in general. It had taken him a bit of time to accept that he wasn't in World War II anymore. It had also taken quite a bit of time to adjust to the new world he was living in, though he was still miles away from understanding most of the technologies that were available to him. Sometimes he felt as if he had gone to another planet rather than just sleeping for nearly seventy years. He glanced from the window to the other two men in the jet. He respected Clint Barton for so many reasons. The man was dedicated to doing his best at protecting the world from evils it couldn't even imagine. There wasn't anything physically special about Barton, he was a man like any other. There was no serum that gave him super accuracy with his bow. There was no crazy science experiment that had gone wrong to give him the ability to make every shot. He was just a normal guy with a dedication. Steve respected that. Thor was something completely different to be reckoned with. He was a god, though Steve only believed in one God he did believe in the strength that Thor demonstrated on many occasions. The man was pure at heart to go along with the desire to protect the wee Midgardians. Earth wasn't even his home world yet he risked his life to protect it and its people. Steve felt that he could relate to Thor the most, both of them were completely confused by most things, neither of them could get drunk, and both felt out of place most the time. Steve himself was driven by the feeling of having a purpose. His life was built around the fact that he is Captain America. It is this drive that gives him the strength to take charge both on and off the battle field. This mission was no different either, someone had to take charge. He saw the zoo out the window, this was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

Thor was lost in thought as the Midgardian jet flew through the clouds. He felt as if he were in the company of family. Earth had grown to feel like home to him. When he'd first come here all he'd wanted to do was return to Asgard, but, once he was there, all he could think of was Earth. It was the people of Earth, Jane Foster mostly, that had made him vow to protect the beautiful planet. With the help of such people as Tony Stark, Captain Rodgers, Agents Barton and Romanoff, as well as Bruce Banner there was no way he would allow any harm to befall this fair planet. The two men in the jet with him had vowed just the same to protect this world. Rodgers was in the same boat as himself, on an almost alien world and battling to protect it. Thor respected the man on the highest level. The people of this world had used him as a science experiment and then left him out in the cold, literally. When he'd finally been rescued everything he'd once known was gone and he'd had to learn a whole new lifestyle. Yet he still gave his life to protect and serve. Barton was another story all together. Thor had a hard time reading the archer. He didn't know much about the agent's past, but he did know that he'd grown up on the circus circuit and then he'd been recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D. as an assassin. He was a man with a mission, and though Thor could respect that, he had no idea what drove the archers determination. Maybe it had something to do with another young archer who had recently joined the fight.

* * *

Clint gently set the Quinjet down in the same place as earlier in the day. He could hear Rodgers and Thor stand up behind him. Both the men were great partners to have, he trusted them with his life, even if they were both a little out of place. It was almost a bit of comic relief with the way Rodgers struggled to wrap his mind around things and Thor was surprised by the littlest things. It must be hard on them, Clint realized that much. Rodgers had to accept that everything and everyone he ever knew was completely different, the world had changed a lot since the man had been rendered unconscious in the midst of saving the world. Thor, just the same, had to acclimate to a new world, having come from Asgard and all. It was because of this extreme culture shock that Clint respected and trusted the two men. Two men in a world that they did not know working to protect it, risking their lives to protect it. He locked down the controls of the Quinjet and stood to join his comrades at the hatch of the jet. "Alright, let's search this place top to bottom." Steve said in a leader type of way.

"We shall find a trail to the beast's." Thor replied. Clint simply nodded with an agreeing smile as his feet hit the concrete path outside the jet.

"I'm going to talk to the staff." Steve stated. "Someone has to know something."

"We'll check out the underground exhibits, see if the containment team missed anything." Clint said, heading off toward the door he'd gone through earlier. Thor stuck with him all the way down into the underground exhibit area.

"It smells..." Thor began, but trailed off as if searching for the definition of the stench.

"Foul." Clint provided the word that he and Natasha had used, it was the only one that really fit.

"Yes, as if Bilgesnipe have lived here for some time." Thor said, then added. "And died here..."

"That's the cows, I'm guessing that's what they were feeding the cats." Clint stated.

"What are cows?" Thor's question would have shocked Clint had he not known the man's story.

"The things we get the beef from." Clint explained.

"Oh yes! Hamburgers!" Thor boomed as the connection to the creatures clicked. His childlike enthusiasm made Clint smile internally, though he kept his composure.

"Yes, hamburgers." Clint stated as they entered the back room. "This is the lab." He provided for Thor. The computers and papers had been cleaned up by the containment team.

"What are we looking for?" Thor questioned.

"Anything that is out of place."

"Got it." Thor said. Clint glanced at him with a quizzical expression.

"Got it?" He wasn't asking if Thor understood, he was questioning the phrase itself. It wasn't exactly something he'd thought he would hear from Thor.

"Is that not what you say when you understand?" Thor questioned.

"No, it is." Clint replied. "You've been spending a lot of time with Tony I guess."

"Tony does say that a lot." Thor replied as he wandered off a bit. Clint focused on the ground. Any chance of finding footprints was compromised by the concrete flooring. He began searching for anything else that might be out of place. His eyes glided over the floors and walls, they stopped as a small dart caught them. He walked over and plucked the dart from the wall. It was a tranquilizer dart, but not like any he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a lot. "I believe I might have found something." Thor said from the other side of the room. Clint headed over to where the blonde man was standing. He shuddered inward as he walked across the blood stained concrete. Normally blood didn't bother him, but the amount of blood on the concrete and the smell... Thor was standing beside a small door, which he had opened to reveal what appeared to be a storage unit for the experiments. The shelves were stacked with jars of preserved embryos, both what looked like cats as well as snakes.

"Damn..." Any human would be sickened by the sight before them, that's what he told himself as his stomach lurched into his throat.

"What kind of person could do this?" Thor questioned.

"A sick one..." Clint replied. "But more importantly, how did the containment team miss this?"

"I do not know, it was just a small door."

"Captain," Clint keyed his radio. "We found something I think you should see."

"I concur." Thor stated.

"I'll be right there." Rodgers replied. "Seems no one knows anything, either that or they are just being tight lipped."

* * *

Cassandra and Natasha walked toward the interrogation room armed with a decent background on the zookeeper, Andrew Shmit. "So how do you want to play this?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, you do a really good compassionate face." Natasha replied. Compassionate face? Cassandra prided herself on being compassionate, not putting up a face. It was part of her, especially when it came to animals. "You be the compassionate one, I'll be the mean one."

"Fair enough." Cassandra replied. It didn't matter what the other woman thought of her. When all this was over, she'd never see her again. They stopped at the door. "Alright, let's see what he knows." She said as she pushed the door open. "Mr. Shmit." Cassandra greeted as she sat across from the man and Natasha leaned against the back wall.

"Top secret organization and they send the power puff girls to interrogate me." Shmit laughed in that evil genius kind of way.

"I never watched that show, did you Tasha?" Cassandra asked.

"Nope, didn't get cable in the KGB training camps." Natasha replied, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring.

"Here's the deal, Mr. Shmit. We can do this the easy, non painful way, where you answer every question I ask and everything will be fine and dandy." Cassandra said with a smile.

"What's the alternative?" Shmit asked.

"I walk out and Tasha takes over."

"Why would that be any worse?" He mocked.

"I grew up in a KGB training camp." Natasha said matter of factly.

"You can't do this, I have rights, I want a lawyer." Shmit said, suddenly aware that the two women were not the power puff girls at all.

"Did they read you a Miranda? Does it look like we can, or will, provide a lawyer?" Cassandra quizzed.

"I'll sue you! I'll have your jobs!"

"You can't sue an organization that doesn't exist." Natasha stated.

"You won't hurt me." He said. "I'm more valuable alive."

"Is that so?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, I know the males weakness." He said with a smirk.

"See, I'm looking for full disclosure." Cassandra said, already aware that the cats can be killed if necessary. "If you can't provide me with the who's, what's, when's, where's, and why's of the entire operation I'll have no choice but to walk out and leave it to my friend here." Cassandra made a show of getting up to walk out the door while Natasha glared pointedly.

"Wait." Shmit said. "I can tell you who did this, why he did it, and what he intends on doing."

"Oh yeah?" Cassandra questioned.

"Just please don't leave me alone with her." He sounded pathetic as he pleaded for what Cassandra was sure he thought was his life.

"Okay." She sat back down. "Who is he?"

"Jonathan McKnight." He said.

"Okay, and what can you tell me about him?"

"He specializes in Gamma radiation research. He was turned down a position with S.H.I.E.L.D. because of his rocky past."

"What's that mean? Rocky past?" Cassandra asked for clarification.

"He was responsible for the deaths of an entire village somewhere in Africa."

"Okay, and why did he change the genetic code of these cats? What does he have planned for the male?"

"The female was a prototype. He lost control of her shortly after the cubs were born. but the male, he's a weapon."

"Against?" Natasha asked.

"The Avengers. A group of people that S.H.I.E.L.D. hired despite their rocky past's." Shmit stated.

"We know who the Avengers are." Natasha said. He didn't need to know that Natasha was one of them.

"McKnight created genetically engineered black panthers to kill the Avengers?" Cassandra asked, allowing her concern to break her voice.

"Is that emotional attachment I hear?" Shmit mocked.

"A creature strong enough to kill the Avengers is an extreme threat to the population of this world." Cassandra stated, regaining her composure. "Plus the moral implications of an idiot who would compromise the genetic code of a creature as beautiful as a black panther..."

"So you have a soft spot for the kitty cats." Shmit stated.

"So what if I do." Cassandra retorted. "Where did he take the other cat?"?

"I don't know."

"What's this weakness you mentioned?" Natasha asked.

"The male has been further mutated. He's stronger. His skin is tougher, impenetrable." Shmit stated.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra pressed.

"The only way to kill him is to shoot just above his bottom rib. It's the only place a weapon can penetrate." Shmit explained.

"Okay, where did McKnight take him?" She questioned again.

"I told you, I don't know. He has several locations he uses for research, he might have taken him there."

"Write the address for every single one." Natasha said as she slammed a paper in front of him with a pen. He began writing and Cassandra smiled inwardly. She would have given the addresses too. There was no part of her that ever wanted to face off with Natasha Romanoff.

"One more question." Cassandra stated. "When is he planning on making his move against the Avengers?"

"Soon, he said that the male was almost ready." Shmit replied. "Very soon."


	7. Fourth of July Special :D

**As I said last chapter, this is a special that I wrote on the Fourth. I had to wait to post it though till the last chapter was up because I didn't want to completely interrupt the story line. Enjoy :D **

* * *

Cassandra Blake stared out the window of the helicarrier to the water far below. Director Fury had decided to move the flying aircraft carrier over the ocean so that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aboard could celebrate the fourth of July in fashion with a nice firework display and no risk of catching anything below them on fire. He'd asked her to do the honors of singing the national anthem for the celebration, which she'd done many times before for her father's political celebrations. Cassandra had agreed, but now she wasn't so sure, her nerves were really getting to her. It was one thing to sing for your father and his political partners, it was something totally different to sing for the people who were trying to get you to join their cause, especially when one of them was your ex-boyfriend. But, she'd never backed out of anything in her life, so nerves or not, she was going to sing the national anthem tonight. "I hear you're singing tonight." She heard Clint Barton's voice behind her.

"Yup, Fury's hoping the celebration will raise moral a bit." Cassandra replied, not sure why Clint was talking to her about this.

"It will." He confirmed as he leaned his back against the window she was still staring out. He had a glint in his grey eyes that she couldn't identify."I know mine will be." He added.

"Clint..." Cassandra started to argue, but how could she, the man was hopelessly in love with her. She still didn't quite understand why he'd broken it off in the first place, but she was beginning to see that maybe she should forgive him.

"I know, I shouldn't say things like that, it makes you uncomfortable." He said in a defending tone.

"It's not that..." She started to make an excuse, but who was she kidding? This is the guy that told her not everything is rainbows and butterflies as a parting note. So yes, it made her uncomfortable.

"I never meant to hurt you like that." Clint said as he turned to gaze out the window.

"Deep down I might actually believe you, but I'm not ready to talk about this in a civil manner. We've been through this before, I just need to have time to think and maybe a better explanation. But for now, please back off." She said as she turned to walk away.

"Cas," He called after her. "I can give you one..." His voice faded away as she walked out of earshot. Sure he could give her a better explanation, but she wasn't prepared to hear it yet.

* * *

Cassandra walked out on stage, accompanied by several dancers in skimpy outfits. Clint wasn't watching the dancers though, he was watching Cassandra. He'd found a place close to the stage that had the optimal vantage point. Captain Steve Rodgers walked out on the stage carrying an American flag. A light breeze spread the flag out as a pianist keyed the first notes of the national anthem. He took a deep breath to prepare himself, Cassandra's voice had always made him weak in the knees and not many things could do that. He placed his hand over his heart in reverence to the flag. "O say can you see by the dawns early light." Cassandra began the song, he could feel his heart rate skip a beat under the palm of his hand at the sound of her singing. "What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming." Cassandra continued, not missing a single note. "Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming." Clint knew that his eyes should be on the flag, but he couldn't tear them away from Cassandra. Her auburn locks floated in the wind as she sang the song in complete reverence to every word. "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air!" Clint was aware of a few fireworks being let off behind Cassandra, but the colorful lights only served to enhance her features. "Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." She carried the last note perfectly as a volley of fireworks lit up the sky above them.

"She's something special." Natasha Romanoff said beside him.

"That she is." He agreed. Though his determination was re-fueled, he would do as Cassandra had asked, he would back off. Hopefully, she would come to him in time and he would be able to explain everything in detail. But, until then, he would mind his own business and leave her be.


	8. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, it's characters, idea's, or theme. I am simply borrowing them because my muse wouldn't leave me alone.**

**Author Note: My story stats are showing that there are more visitors to the July Fourth Special chapter than there are to Chapter 5. If you have not read chapter five, you want to go back and do so before reading this chapter, chapter six. **

* * *

Sitting in a room with the Avengers was not a place Cassandra had ever imagined she'd be. She'd never desired to be a part of a team, preferring to work alone. All her life she'd been the loner, the outcast, but with these guys, she fit right in. Just like she had with Clint. Maybe it was this connection she'd been searching for all this time. This was a connection she'd only felt with animals before and she fought the idea that she was growing connected to these people. It was a connection that made it feel as if every fiber of your being was threaded together with someone else. She looked around the room. Clint and Natasha were playing war with a deck of cards they had taken from a group of recruits. Thor, Steve, and Tony were sitting together watching some kind of comedy to which Thor was booming with laughter. Cassandra herself was sitting back with a sketch pad, her way of releasing stress. She drew the image before her. The people who had begun to touch her life in the most intimate of ways. Her attention was drawn to the door as it opened to reveal Bruce Banner, who was still obviously weak from his ordeal. "Bruce!" Natasha exclaimed as she slapped her cards down on the table and jumped up to give Bruce a hug. She almost knocked him over in the process. "Do you feel better?" She questioned.

"For the most part." Bruce replied. "I'll be back to normal soon." He added with a smile as the rest of the team crowded around him, offering their support.

"Let the poor man sit down." Fury's voice came from somewhere behind the crowd. They did as he said and moved so that Bruce could take a seat. Fury came in to the center of the room in an attention demanding way that made Cassandra lay her sketch pad on the couch next to her. "Good job out there today." Fury stated.

"We didn't really find anything." Steve said.

"Actually, the scientists say that the embryos you brought back are giving a lot of insight into what was done to these cats." Fury corrected.

"Do they think the process can be reversed?" Cassandra asked from her place on the couch.

"Possibly." Fury confirmed. "That's the farthest thing from my mind though."

"Did they find anything on that dart?" Clint asked of the tranquilizer dart he had found earlier.

"Yes, it was a tranquilizer cocktail strong enough to kill an elephant." Fury replied.

"Well, at least we know he has something to knock the beast out." Steve commented.

"Yeah, just be careful he doesn't hit any of you all with it." Fury warned.

"What have the satellites shown at those addresses?" Natasha questioned of the addresses she and Cassandra had obtained from Andrew Shmit.

"That's why I'm here." Fury said. "A commercial horse trailer was seen entering one of the warehouses." Fury tossed a picture on the coffee table in front of Cassandra. The picture showed a semi-truck pulling a large horse trailer. Out the back window was what appeared to be an oversized black panther tail dangling limply. "Suit up ladies and gentlemen, this ends now." Fury ordered.

* * *

Jonathan McKnight backed the horse trailer right up to the exhibit gate. The less contact he had with the creature the better, he didn't want to chance getting hurt before he could put his plan into motion. He got out of the truck and went to the back where he opened the ramp to allow the enormous creature to back out into the cage. "That a boy." He said in calming tones. The panther paced around the cage in search of his afternoon meal. "No boy, no cows today. Your destiny has arrived. It's time to take care of the Avengers once and for all." He said with a menacing laugh. "We shall win my child!" He exclaimed. The creature roared as if in agreement. His phone beeped, the security system was alerting him of a breach in the perimeter. He looked at the live video feed which showed Ironman, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, and another woman he didn't recognize. Then the feed was cut, no doubt by S.H.I.E.L.D. "The time is now!" He exclaimed as he opened the gate of the cage. "Go my child! Feed on these intruders!" The panther roared loudly and charged toward him. It snapped at him, barely catching his flesh with its enormous teeth. The creature stopped and stared at him as if to say that it was what he deserved for all he'd put it through. In truth it probably was. The large cat sauntered into the shadows, leaving him alone. He began to burn from the inside out as if his blood were boiling. It was the venom. He would not live long enough to see his plan finished.

* * *

Clint's eyes dashed from one security camera to another as they approached the building. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's still aboard the helicarrier had assured him that the camera's were disabled, but they still gave him an uneasy feeling. Had McKnight seen them coming? A roar from inside the warehouse broke him from his thoughts. "Hawk, get up high." Steve said, taking charge of the situation. "Keep eye's on the exits, nothing gets out."

"On it." He'd already chosen his location on top of the warehouse as they had flown in. He broke off from the group as Steve continued to give orders. In less than a minute he was perched on the roof of the warehouse looking in through a large skylight. He heard footsteps behind him and turned his bow, already loaded, to greet the owner of the footsteps.

"Whoa." Cassandra said with her hands up defensively.

"Sorry, not used to having another archer around." Cling stated, relaxing his bow. "I could've shot you, don't sneak up on me."

"Sorry." She said. Another roar rattled the skylight next to them.

"He's in there."

"Yup." She crouched next to the window, glancing inside as she nocked an arrow. "Remember, just above the bottom rib." He nodded in response.

"We're ready to go in guys." Steve said over the radio. Clint watched the entry point through the skylight. "Any sign of the cat?"

"Just the roars. We have no visual." Clint replied as Cassandra made her way over to the other skylight.

"I've got McKnight." She stated. "Doesn't look like he's going to be a problem."

"Alright, here goes nothing." Steve said. Clint could see the door open and his comrades step inside. Natasha broke off and found cover in the shadows while Thor, Steve, and Tony walked in together.

"I don't see a gigantic kitty cat." Tony stated.

"He's here." Natasha replied, she had a certain sense of her surroundings that Clint had learned not to ignore. If she said the cat was still here, Clint wouldn't doubt it.

"He's hunting." Cassandra stated. "He left McKnight like that as bait." She explained.

"Is he hunting or fishing?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Large cats will place bait for larger prey. Just approach with caution." Cassandra warned.

"Got it." Steve replied. Clint watched attentively as Steve walked alone toward the limp body on the ground. "He's gone." Steve stated after having leaned over the body.

"Thought so." Cassandra stated. "The venom did him in. Talk about poetic justice..." A roar cut her off as the panther revealed himself from the shadows he was hiding in. Natasha took a few shots, but the creature was moving too fast to aim accurately. Tony shot off a few rounds, but again, to no avail. Clint nocked an explosive arrow, though he didn't have a shot at the creatures ribs, he released the arrow and detonated it just before it reached the cat. The explosion only served to get the cats attention. It turned and leapt through the skylight, it's large body barely fit. "Clint!" He heard Cassandra scream as the creatures paws swiped in front of it. Clint stumbled back, but not fast enough. He looked down for a split second at the gash in his abdomen.

"Oh shit..." He said as he fell to his knees.

* * *

"Clint!" Cassandra screamed as the cat came through the skylight. She nocked an arrow and aimed carefully before releasing. The arrow stuck in the cats ribs and Cassandra launched herself over Clint, who was laying on the roof in a fetal position. The arrowhead detonated behind her which should have splattered the entire roof with pieces of the cat, but instead the creature roared as it leapt from the roof of the warehouse and took off. He must have shaken the arrow lose before the detonation. The receding form of the panther was followed by that of Thor, Mjolnir gripped tightly in his hand as he ran. She was torn between following it and checking Clint. She quickly sat back on her heels to see how badly Clint was wounded, as soon as she saw him, she knew she would stay. Her stomach lurched as she saw the gaping wound. She could see the white of his ribs and his lungs gently pushing against them . She took solace in the fact that they were still working, but then they stopped.

* * *

Thor heard Cassandra's scream and then the explosion above them followed by the thudding of the large creature as it ran across the roof. Steve, Natasha, Tony, and Thor shared a glance. They had all seen the creature jump through the skylight directly at Clint. "I will pursue the beast!" Thor stated as he headed for the door they had entered through. He held Mjolnir tightly in his hand as he ran behind the fleeing black panther. The creature was fast and it was difficult to keep up. There were people screaming and running from the panther as they made their way through many Chicago streets. "Stop you foul beast!" Thor screamed, but the creature kept fleeing, it was worth a shot. Aware of the people watching and the cars in the way, Thor summoned a large lightning bolt which connected with the creature in what should have been a fatal blow. The creature only roared and kept running. It was obviously very angry, maybe even a little bit scared. He summoned another bolt and threw his hammer at the same time, both connected with the cats head but it did not flinch as it continued its dash away. It leapt on top of a nearby building. Thor grasped Mjolnir as it returned to him and used it to take flight to the top of the building. There was no sign of the creature on the building or in the surrounding streets. He had lost it.

* * *

With her heart racing she pulled her tank top off and wrapped it tightly around Clint in an attempt to slow the bleeding. Cassandra started CPR as Tony landed behind her.

"How bad?" He asked.

"Bad!" She replied before giving Clint a rescue breath. "Get the Quinjet up here now!" She screamed.

"Already on it." Steve replied into the radio as she continued CPR.

"Clint, don't you die on me you insensitive bastard!" She shouted before giving him another rescue breath. "Don't die!" She yelled again as she continued compressions.

"Cassandra..." Tony put a hand on her shoulder. "I think he's..."

"No, I won't give up!" She yelled. Though it was hard to forgive him for what he'd done, she couldn't let him die, not like this. The Quinjet landed behind them.

"Let me get him." Tony said.

"Keep his body level." Cassandra said as Tony carefully lifted the broken body of Clint. She supported his head while Ironman supported his back, keeping it straight so as not to cause more damage. As soon as Tony laid him down in the jet Cassandra continued CPR and Steve lifted the jet off the roof.

"Let me shock him." Natasha said from beside her where she was holding the paddles to a portable defibrillator. Cassandra pulled her hands back as Natasha put the paddles to Clint's chest. "Clear!" Natasha yelled as she shocked Clint's body.

"Come on Clint!" Cassandra pleaded. Natasha shocked him again. He gasped for air and attempted to sit up but Natasha and Cassandra stopped him with hands on his shoulders. "Welcome back." Cassandra said as his eye's fell on her.

"Cas..." he said, his voice was obviously pained.

"Yeah?" She questioned.

"Tell me we killed the bastard."

"I wish I could." Cassandra stated.

"Shit." He said quietly followed by a cough that released a volley of blood from his mouth.

"Stay with me Clint." She said, gripping his hand tightly, as she sensed he was slipping away again.

"Cassandra..." He said, an unmistakable gurgling sound tainting his voice. "Where's your shirt?"

"Um," She glanced down, not caring that she was sitting there in nothing but jeans and a bra. "it's keeping you from bleeding out." _Hopefully. _She added silently.

"Oh, that's..." He said, which caused another cough that cut off his reply.

"Easy there." She said as his cough subsided.

"I... Lo..." He attempted before his eyes rolled back in his head.

"I'm losing him!" She shouted urgently as she failed to find a pulse and resumed CPR.


	9. Chapter Seven

**_Disclaimer_**_**: I don't own the Avengers, but I do love them, thank you to the creators for all the inspiration :D \**_

_**Authors Note: I'm sorry for the long break between chapters, and a cliff hanger chapter to boot. I started a new job and am gearing up to go back to college classes, so I had to set it aside, but I promise more updates soon! Leave me some love on that pretty review button at the bottom and let me know what you think :D**_

* * *

_Clint had seen the light at the end of the tunnel before, welcomed it even, but this time he didn't like the idea of walking toward it. This time was different, he couldn't explain why, he just knew he had to stay alive, had to keep breathing. He was aware of voices around him, urgently calling him, demanding he come back to them. He was stuck though, as if someone had glued his feet to the ground. Someone gripped his hand. The touch was familiar, loving. If he could just walk toward the touch… Toward the voices... If he could just take that first step he knew he'd be okay. Just one step..._

* * *

Steve, Thor, Tony, and Natasha sat in the briefing room aboard the helicarrier. Silence filled the room as each of them thought about the day's events. Steve could only imagine what they were thinking. He, himself, felt as if he had failed Clint in the heat of the confrontation with the creature. Fury walked in with Bruce right behind him, breaking the team from their thoughts. "He's in surgery." Fury stated, knowing that would be their first question. "The doctors don't know anything yet, but they said you did a great job in the field." None of them spoke, still lost in their own thoughts. _Cassandra is the one who'd done a great job. _Steve thought to himself. _All I did was get the Quinjet... _"Does someone want to explain what happened out there?"

"We dropped the ball sir." Steve spoke up.

"I can see that." Fury stated bluntly. "And now Agent Barton is paying the price."

"I couldn't get a clear shot off." Natasha said in an attempt to further explain what dropping the ball meant exactly. "Not with the creature on the ground."

"What do you mean?" Fury questioned.

"It's like it knows where it's weakness is. The whole time it was on the ground it kept it's ribs shielded. When it jumped through the skylight it was all stretched out, but I was at the wrong angle. I just hoped Cassandra could get a shot off." Natasha explained.

"Why did it attack Clint on the roof as opposed to the four of you on the ground?" Fury grilled, looking for answers.

"He could tell it was guarding itself. He detonated an explosive arrow close to its head, causing it to get pissed and jump. I think he was trying to open up a clear shot for one of us." Natasha described Clint's actions.

"Cassandra did get a clear shot. She planted an arrow straight in the bastard's ribs. He shook it loose before detonation though." Tony added.

"I gave chase to the beast, but it was incredibly fast, I could not keep up." Thor stated.

"Okay, let's pick up the pieces." Fury responded with determination. "Where's Cassandra?"

"We're not sure." Steve said.

"She's pretty torn up over Clint's injury sir." Natasha explained.

"That's understandable, they have a pretty intricate past, but she's strong. Find her, we need her tracking the panther." Fury said.

"I think she needs to take a deep breath, she's not used to dealing with other people on the battle field." Steve stated.

"Do whatever is necessary to keep her on board." Fury ordered Natasha, dismissing Steve's concerns.

"Yes sir." Natasha replied in a determined tone. Steve wasn't sure what Natasha was planning, but he had a feeling Clint was not going to be happy about it.

* * *

Cassandra sat in the crawl space between decks on the helicarrier staring out a small viewing port. The ride from the warehouse had been the longest fifteen minutes of her life, and the most heart wrenching. She'd held on to her hurt and anger for so long that it had become a part of her, she wasn't sure how to react with other emotions mixed in. The incident at the warehouse had brought back memories from the past, things she had buried long ago. But that didn't matter, what mattered was that she couldn't get the image of Clint's bloody and broken body out of her mind. Tears streaked her face at the thought of her ex in such a vulnerable position. Tears for all the fear and hurt associated with him. The sound of someone crawling behind her pulled her attention from her thoughts. "Mind if I join you?" Natasha asked from the tight space behind her.

"Sure." Cassandra replied. She shifted her body so that her legs were dangling over the edge of the maintenance catwalk, leaving room for Natasha to sit next to her. Once the other woman was settled in next to her she looked out the same window as Cassandra, as if searching for what had drawn Cassandra's attention.

"Clint comes up here all the time." Natasha said.

"I know." She replied softly, remembering that he had invited her up here with him a couple times before. "Who could blame him? It's a great place to think."

"That it is." Natasha replied. They stayed silent for a few moments before Natasha spoke again. "He loves you."

"I know." Cassandra said after a moment's hesitation, did she really know that?

"He could have any woman. He's a great looking guy, he's a gentlemen, he's sweet..."

"I know all of that!" Cassandra interrupted the other woman, beginning to get irritated by the intrusion to their relationship.

"My point is that he chose you and he wants you. Why can't you forgive him?"

"Because if he truly loved me deep down and one hundred percent he wouldn't of broke it off the way he did. No amount of torture would have compromised him to the point that he didn't have control enough to keep from calling me up and ending it." Cassandra explained her conflict. "But I know he loves me in some weird way that only Clint could."

"No not in some weird way, in every way Cassandra." Natasha pulled out a data pad. "Watch this." She pulled up a video and hit play. The video showed a room, there were agents and scientist's walking around some sort of device that was obviously charging up. "That's the Tesseract." Natasha said as she pointed to the blue glowing core of the device. Fury entered the room and Clint repelled down a rope, he always did like being up high. After a moment the device discharged and the video showed another man. "And that's Loki." Natasha stated, pointing out the new man who had appeared from the brightly lit area on the screen. After Loki discharged some type of weapon around the room at various agents he took a shot at Fury, whom Clint pushed out of the way. Loki walked up to Clint, who had gone for his gun but had been stopped by some unseen force. Loki placed the tip of his weapon on Clint's chest, some type of energy swirled around the staff and Clint returned his gun to its holster. The video stopped. "After that the facility blew. Fury barely made it out alive and Loki took several scientist's and Clint with him. He made Clint do things he didn't want to, and would never, do. He attacked the helicarrier, attacked me. I was able to beat some sense into him." Natasha explained as she pulled up an audio only file. "This was recorded in the isolation room after I recovered and detained Clint, after he was released from Loki's control." Natasha explained as she pressed the play button.

_"How did you get me back?" _Clint's voice asked.

_"I gave you a bit of cognitive recalibration." _Natasha's voice replied and after a moment she added. _"I hit you really hard on the head." _

_"Thanks." _Clint replied gratefully. _"Did I hurt anyone?" _

_"Don't go there." _Natasha replied.

_"Do you have any idea what it's like to be unmade?" _Clint questioned after a pause.

_"You know that I do." _Natasha replied softly. _"You are not responsible for anything you did." _Natasha added reassuringly after another pause.

_"Tell Cassandra that." _Clint stated.

_"What do you mean?" _ Natasha's concern was evident.

_"He made me break it off with her. It was like I was trapped in my own body, but I couldn't say anything. I screamed for Cas not to listen, but nothing came out." _Clint's voice held more than a little desperation as Natasha stopped the recording.

"He didn't have control at all." Cassandra said, shocked. All this time she'd thought Clint had been tortured and brain washed when in truth he'd been completely suppressed, his body used for someone else's bidding.

"As I said, he loves you." Natasha said. "I had never seen him cry, but he cried that day." She added before crawling back through the crawl space to the corridor beyond. Cassandra hadn't believed it when Clint had said he had been under the control of alien technology. She'd blown it off as an excuse. All this time she'd attacked him for what he'd done when she should have consoled him. She should have listened to him and understood that he was being truthful with her. There were a lot of things she should have done, but she hadn't and now she had to make up for it.

* * *

A creature, black and mysterious, prowled through the streets. Even from the sky, camera man Trent Laurson could tell this was no ordinary black panther. It was almost as big as a semi truck with fangs like a snake and a roar that shook everything within a mile surrounding it. No, this was nothing like the easy going cats at the zoo, this was a terrible monster. This one creature had caused more chaos than the all nine-eleven attacks combined. People ran, screaming in the streets. National Guard scrambled to contain the chaos, but it was no use. Trent watched the chaos beneath their helicopter through the lens of his camera, it made it easier not to panic, like as if it were on a TV instead of reality. In his camera he caught sight of the cat, it was walking in between the abandoned cars on the narrow street. Ahead of the creature he saw a child, a little boy. A shudder shook Trent to the bone, there was no one close enough to protect the child. In one snap, the kid was gone, the teddy bear he'd been holding fell limply to the ground as blood trickled from the cats mouth, and Trent knew it did not belong to the monster. _Dear Lord, deliver us from this evil... _Trent prayed silently as he closed his eyes, panic was beginning to set in.

* * *

President Jason Blake stared at the reports in front of him, Chicago had been struck by the panther. Witnesses had seen Thor chasing after the beast and a "heli-jet" took off from a warehouse in the vicinity. Jason could only assume that it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet and the Avengers had failed to take care of the problem, again. He had dispatched the National Guard to get people inside, but it had been too late for the citizens of Chicago, the casualty count was well over five hundred. What the hell had happened? He'd never had a problem with Cassandra taking care of business before, though at first he was more than a little leery about the idea of his daughter being an assassin. She'd never failed a mission though, including the one that had saved his life years ago. Why did she fail this time? For that matter, why were the Avengers still unable to take care of the problem? All questions he needed answers to. He picked up his phone, intent on getting those answers.

* * *

Cassandra walked in the lab where Natasha, Thor, Steve, Bruce, and Tony were watching a muted television. There were scenes of chaos, scenes like she'd only seen in war torn places. People were running, cars were crashed, and emergency response units attempted to help the injured. National Guard trucks and tanks crowded the streets and took shots at the enormous Black Panther in an attempt to stop it. More power to them if one of them got off a lucky shot. Her cell phone rang, alerting the others to her presence. They turned to look at her as she pulled out her phone and turned her back to them. The incoming call was restricted. She cleared her throat and put the phone to her ear before saying, "Blake."

"Cassandra Marie Blake!" The Presidents voice came on the line. "I thought I told you to take care of this problem before it became worse?!"

"You did sir, but the situation has become complicated." She stated in an all professional tone. It had taken years to master that tone.

"And why's that?" He questioned in that tone she knew all too well, the one that said he probably didn't give a shit.

"The cat is genetically engineered to kill the Avengers. It was engineered with only one weakness and it proved stronger than we expected. It's going to take some time." She explained.

"Time is something this country does not have." The President scalded. "Over five hundred casualties have been confirmed. There are over a hundred people missing."

"I don't need the numbers father." She snapped. "If you're trying to encourage me, there's only one number I care about."

"Oh yeah, is that the number of bull's-eyes you hit on the range today?" He mocked her. Why should she expect him to genuinely care? He really was unaware of anything and everything in her life. He was a great president, but he lacked a lot in the way of being a great dad.

"No." She replied snidely to his comment, and then added, "Clint's been hurt." It was the only information she needed to fuel her determination to destroy the panther.

"Oh honey…" His tone changed from angry president to caring father, what a charade.

"Don't honey me!" She snapped. "I will avenge Clint and when I do, your little problem will be solved."

"So you've accepted him back into your heart." He commented. He was so ignorant sometimes.

"He never left." She hung up before she said something that would permanently damage their fragile relationship. She turned to face the Avengers, their shock at the way she had spoken to her father was evident, but none of them would say anything, of that she was thankful.

"So I take it the old man's not happy?" Tony questioned.

"No, and quite frankly, I'm not either." She said. "It's time that this ends. Lets find this cat and kill him." She added as she sat down at the computer that was still connected to her satellite search grid.

"There's a lot of destruction down there, gonna be hard to locate him." Bruce said as he took a seat next to her.

"I see that." Cassandra stated. "Hard to believe that one cat is responsible for all this destruction."

"Did you see what that thing did to Legolas?" Tony questioned sarcastically.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." Cassandra replied snidely to his remark. Men could be so insensitive sometimes, especially Tony Stark.

"Bruce, is there any way you can track the Gamma signature of the Panther?" Tony asked. Cassandra had to admit, she hadn't thought of that.

"I can try, but it'll be difficult being that he's not actively radiating." Bruce replied. "No promises, but I'll give it a shot." He moved to a computer at the back of the room. He seemed to have mostly recovered from his injuries, but Cassandra couldn't really tell because he still seemed weak and a bit shaky. She began searching the satellite images in front of her.

"I'm going to get an update on Clint." Natasha stated as she headed out of the room.

"I will accompany you." Thor said while he and Steve followed her out. _They must feel useless in this type of situation. _Cassandra thought to herself after the three Avengers had disappeared from sight, this wasn't exactly their area of expertise.


End file.
